


V is for Victory

by romanticalgirl



Category: Hornblower (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-08
Updated: 2013-04-08
Packaged: 2017-12-07 21:02:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 217
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/753038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romanticalgirl/pseuds/romanticalgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Originally posted 11-6-08</p>
    </blockquote>





	V is for Victory

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted 11-6-08

Victory is a dangerous thing. 

Archie Kennedy learned that particular lesson four days after he escaped from the prison he found himself in after waking up adrift in the boat, caught in a tangle of reeds and forgotten nets along the Spanish shore. He had thought himself safe, free and smarter than his captors as he crept along the rocky shores and hiding in ditches and ravines while soldiers and guards searched for him, talking in rapid-fire Spanish while they shoved bayonets into bushes not far over his head.

He had thought himself the victor in the battle, making his way southward and staying as close to the sea as possible, searching for the sight of sails and the sanctity of British soil amongst the waves. Instead he risked entering a small camp he found hidden in a copse of trees only to end up captured and secured and en route to another prison, farther from any hope of England, ship or shore. Every victory thereafter hollower and hollower still as England slipped into the distance like a dream.

Victory gives you false hope, false courage. Victory, Archie Kennedy realized as he looked at the dark walls of the oubliette, listening to the sounds of El Ferrol in the near distance, is just another word for death.


End file.
